Two Years Atonement
by GhostiesandGhoulies
Summary: Prequel to One Last Fight. A gutsy move on the Elrics' part actually works for them getting their bodies back, but at a steep price. Edward made sure that Truth would let Alphonse go with no strings attached. A deal is made and now Edward must pay the price of the choices he made in life. He suffers in silence until someone discovers what he hid. Now he must fight to live on.


**Been really thinking about this for awhile and so I decided to just try it out. For the fans who enjoyed One Last Fight then this is for them. This is a sequel/prequel to that - so go read that first! Otherwise you'll be a bit lost. By a bit I mean quite a bit. Hope you enjoy this first bit - I plan on making this a multi-chapter story, so buckle up for the ride!**

**Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, not I.**

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"Are you sure about this brother?"

Edward looked over at the suit of armor that was his brother and let out a sigh. Was he? He wasn't really sure. "Honestly Al... not really," he admitted quietly.

There was a creak as Alphonse shifted, red eyes gazing nervously at his elder brother, "What do you mean?"

Ed smiled weakly at the other, "The last time you asked me that question we were trying to bring back mom and look what happened then. I'm just... being honest with you this time is all." He looked back to the transmutation before them. It was quite the last ditch effort on his part but they had researched for years on how to get their bodies without a philosopher's stone and there was just no known way.

However, being faced with impossible odds never stopped the Elric brothers before and it wasn't going to stop them after so long. The method they had come up with wasn't too far fetched as far as a result went but Ed wasn't getting his hopes up, just in case. He had managed to get his hands on the bodies of two dead prisoners whose weight would be about equal to their own, he hoped that it would be enough. Mentally he had serious doubts about the plan but he was running out of strings to draw from.

With a deep breath he threw a small smile at his younger brother, "Ready Al?"

Upon the hesitant nod from the other he clapped and slammed his hands down onto the ground, immediately activating the transmutation circle.

White enveloped his vision and in the blink of an eye Edward found himself face to face with Truth itself.

It grinned at him, **Well hello Edward, I didn't think I'd see you again so soon!**

He grit his teeth together and glared, "I'm just here to get our bodies back, that's all. And I already gave you the toll!"

The white figure's smile turned sinister, **Now Edward, do you honestly expect me to take two bodies for your two living bodies?** It shook its head, **You must _still_ not know who you're dealing with. Tell you what, I'll let your brother go for the two bodies.** A pause as an evil smirk appeared, **But what will you give me to make sure I let him go?**

Edward's glare intensified. No matter what he did, this thing always played a game with him. A game he seemingly could not win. Though he was glad that Truth was letting Alphonse go, that had been his goal all along. But what was he to give? With a small moment of thinking he spoke, "Fine, keep my arm and leg, I'll manage without them."

Truth merely smirked at him mockingly, **Is that all I get Edward? I'm letting your brother go, I need a little _more_.**

Ed was utterly confused for a moment and then it somehow came to him what Truth wanted from him. He had already told himself he'd give up whatever he had to in order to get Al back in one piece however and was resolute in not leaving until he was sure Truth would let him go without any strings attached. "Fine," he said finally, "take it."

The pure white being grinned widely, **A pleasure doing business with you, Edward Elric.**

He only offered another hard glare before leaving the Gate and back to the real world.

Ed furrowed his eyebrows as he began gaining consciousness, only vaguely aware of the voices surrounding him. He let out a groan and pulled his hands to his aching head. He felt exhausted in all senses and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and fall back into unconsciousness and rest. Hearing his little brother's frantic calling to him stopped him and made him open his eyes. He blinked a few times as he realized the sheer amount of concerned faces looking down at him, "What are you all doing here...?"

Alphonse's face flooded with relief and he sat back, the coat sitting on his shoulders shifting slightly as he did so, "I was worried brother..."

It was then he realized that he was looking at his younger brother's face. His _face_! Not the mask of the armor that had held his soul for so long. He had succeeded in getting Al's body back. He quickly sat up and smiled, "You're okay... you're back.."

The other gave a small smile of his own, "Yeah, thanks to you..." He looked sad then, "But Ed... your arm and leg are still..."

Edward shook his head, "Don't worry about it Alphonse, I don't need them. You're back and that's all that matters." He looked at his human brother fondly, "I'm glad you're back to being you Al."

There was a small moment of silence as the Elric duo shared a smile before it was broken by an all too familiar voice.

"You _idiots_."

The voice was followed by related sighs of relief and huffs of exasperation.

Ed turned to the surrounding group. He threw a tired smirk at a certain Colonel, "Might be idiots but it worked didn't it?"

Roy sent him a glare, "Oh yeah but at what cost Fullmetal? Last time I checked you still have your automail. What else did you give up to get Alphonse back?"

At that, Alphonse worriedly looked at him, eyes raking over his body to see if anything else was missing.

In that moment, Edward made the decision not to tell them. As he wasn't even sure as to what he gave up anymore what would be the sense in getting them worried if it turned out to be nothing? He put up a front and gave a grin, "Don't worry about me, just the arm and leg was all Truth wanted surprisingly."

Both Roy and Alphonse studied him carefully, as if knowing something was up. Hughes was the one to speak first amidst the silence, "Well if that's it then welcome back you two! Glad you're both alright!"

"We need to get them both checked out at the hospital, just in case," Riza spoke up from the side.

There were murmurs of agreement from the others - aka the rest of Roy's team.

Ed folded his arms, "Don't I get a say in this?"

"No," came the unanimous reply from all those present.

With a grumble he allowed Hughes to help him stand, or at least that's what he told himself, as Riza helped Al to stand, keeping an arm wrapped around his rather frail form. When he was on his feet he stumbled slightly, Hughes immediately noting as such and steadying him.

"Edward," he said warningly.

With a wave the elder Elric brushed off concern, "I'm fine, just tired from the transmutation. It always takes a lot out of me."

Alphonse gazed over at his brother worriedly, easily spotting his lie. Edward was always tired after a hefty transmutation but he was never so exhausted to the point that he physically showed as such. He knew that something was wrong, something was different. He only hoped his brother would tell him what it was before it was too late.

They were taken to be checked out at the hospital with some mild complaints from Ed, which was predictable. Alphonse was declared malnourished but otherwise fine. Edward on the other hand was declared to be developing some kind of illness and completely overworked. There was a glare from all the others present when he had been diagnosed.

Ed had immediately asked them all to leave momentarily so he could speak with the doctor who had diagnosed him. He got right to the point, "What kind of illness am I developing? I was perfectly fine yesterday."

"We believe it's related to your utter exhaustion, you've overworked yourself to the point of sickness Mr. Elric," the doctor said seriously, "I implore you to change some of your habits as well as keep a closer tab on your health. If you should keep this up you might drive yourself to an early grave."

The man's words hit home and he realized that it was absolutely true. But overworking himself wouldn't be the issue. If he had to guess, it'd be whatever he gave up to Truth that was his unbecoming. He tried to ask more when he felt his consciousness leave him suddenly. The world tilted before him and he was just barely aware of the feeling of hitting the ground and maybe a shout of his name and then nothing.

When he opened his eyes he realized he was standing in an all white plane eerily similar to being in the Gate. A dark chuckle came from behind.

**Well hello yet again Edward**, came a voice.

Ed whipped around to come face to face with Truth itself, "What the hell?! What am I doing here again?"

The white being outright laughed, **Because I brought you here**.

He let out a growl, hands tightening into fists, "What do you want?" He was so tired of this creature playing games with him, he had done all he had set out to. He had returned his brother from the Gate and even managed to come out relatively unscathed himself. He was done with dancing around with Truth.

His answer came in the form of a dark chuckle, **To settle our agreement with the transmutation of course**. Truth tilted its head, **Or did you really think I'd let you off easy?**

Edward merely glared, arms crossed. Mentally he had hoped that maybe, just maybe, the nuisance of a being would let him slide but apparently he had no such luck.

**You gave a lot to me to get little Alphonse back,** Truth continued in a taunting fashion,** if only you realized how much.** The figure stood and shook his head,** In any case, I want to make you a deal Edward Elric. You know how I love to make trades and such. I'll let you live like practically nothing happened for awhile and then your payment to me begins. In the end I will claim your life boy, that, in a way, is what you gave up to get your brother back. But, since I'm merciful...**

Ed gave a scoff.

**Since I'm merciful,** it continued, **I'll let you live for a bit and then you will start your payment. In return for this span of time you return payment to me, I'll let you have the last hours of your life without pain.** Truth gave a large grin, **So what do you say Edward Elric? Do we have a deal? If not I could always take back what was mine...**

He gave an exasperated breath, "Why even give me the choice in the matter if you'll just take back Alphonse if I don't? What the hell is your problem?!" His fists were clenched almost painfully hard, his entire body quivering in utter rage at the being before him that seemingly couldn't get enough of playing with his life. There was only one option, he'd have to agree. Alphonse had an entire life ahead of him, there was no way he could even think of taking it from him. "Fine," he muttered, "I'll play your game."

The white being stalked forward, a near manacle grin on its face, **So we have a deal?**

Edward only graced him with a curt nod, jaw tight.

Truth chuckled and turned his back, **As always, a pleasure doing business with you... Edward Elric.**

For the second time that day, Edward found himself returning to consciousness. He rolled his head about with a low groan. He couldn't remember a time, aside from his automail surgery when he had felt so exhausted. His body ached even though he was completely relaxed against what he assumed was a medical bed, his head pounded with a powerful headache and he realized that even thinking was a difficult process. Blearily he opened his eyes, only to meet a familiar golden gaze so similar to his own, "Alphonse?"

Al broke into a small smile, "Hey brother, you're finally awake! We were getting worried again... You're so mean! Making me worry so much..." The smile had turned into a playful looking pout.

Edward gave a small and tired laugh, "Sorry Al, I don't mean to." He looked around the room wearily, eyeing the vast amount of white present disdainfully, "Hospital room?"

"Yeah," the younger replied in a worried tone, "the doctor said you two were discussing your illness and then you just toppled over and passed out. Roy and I were close and heard him call out to you. I got scared seeing you like that, I thought it might've been a side affect of the transmutation or something.."

A spike of guilt and remorse hit Ed like a kick in the gut as he mournfully praised Alphonse's trail of thinking, it _was_ related but he couldn't say as such. He didn't plan to, not unless things got to a point where he couldn't take care of it himself. He hoped it wouldn't get to such a point but he reminded himself that Truth always was tricky to deal with and that he shouldn't underestimate what the white being could to do to him. He shook his head and gave a sigh, "Nah, I'm fine Al. When can we leave?"

"Soon," came a second voice from the doorway, "seeing as you seem to be fine. They'll probably ask you how you are and you'll be on your way. Don't even think about leaving before then Fullmetal."

Ed pouted slightly, "Fine Colonel Bastard, I'll be good. Just tell them to hurry up."

Mentally the dark haired man scrutinized over the lack of a fight from his subordinate carefully, it was highly unusual for there to be so much lack of a fight from the other. His eyes narrowed at the other, "So how are you feeling?"

With a small sigh the elder Elric slumped back onto the bed in evident exhaustion, "Really worn out but otherwise fine. No idea why I passed out like that..."

Alphonse didn't miss the slight amount of hesitation when Ed spoke, he just didn't understand why his brother felt the need to hide how he was feeling to such an extent. "Brother..." he said with a warning tone.

Edward's bright golden eyes darkened slightly, "Drop it Al, I'm fine. Just tired."

Roy observed in silence as Alphonse flinched at his brother's tone and then slumped slightly, obviously upset. He watched his subordinate closely, looking for any sign that something was up but found only the guards that Ed had put up against such a thing. He gave an irritated huff, "You know what? Fine, if you feel like you're so healthy - go! I'll tell the doctors so you can leave."

The surprise on the other's face was unguarded, "What?"

"Go, get out of here before I change my mind," Roy muttered, trudging out of the room.

The blonde alchemist stared after the dark haired Colonel's retreating form, "Wait did I just get permission to break rules?"

Alphonse gave a disapproving glare.

"Well did I," he asked in exasperation, "whatever I'm going to go to the dorm room they gave us... You going to come or will you wait?" Edward slipped off the bed and tugged on his jacket as he spoke.

The younger Elric's tone was clipped, "I'll wait."

With a curious stare, Ed gave a shrug and then left, "See you later then." The atmosphere was uncomfortable, he hated when his brother was angry with him even when he wasn't exactly sure of the cause. He assumed it was because of his want to leave the hospital but it had to be something more. A small part of him wondered if the other had picked out his rather numerous lies but he quickly shook the theory off. While it was entirely possible that Alphonse had seen through his lies it was impossible for the other to know of the reasoning behind his lies. His mood dampened ever more at the thought, he had to keep them safe from the knowledge.

If he was going to make atonement for his choices in life, then he'd be damned before he brought anyone else into it.

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**Okay there we have the first chapter, hope you enjoyed. I won't promise to update soon because I don't know if I'll have a chance to or not. I'll certainly try and get something up for you guys. R&R if you want!**

**~Ghosties**


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